Elk Grove man vows to fight for freedom in Vietnam

ELK GROVE (AP) -- A Vietnamese-American democracy activist who was released after nine months of prison in his native Vietnam is pledging to keep fighting for free speech and democracy in his homeland.

Nguyen Quoc Quan, 60, was reunited with his family Wednesday night in Los Angeles after the Vietnamese government deported him. He was arrested on allegations that he was trying to overthrow the government -- a charge he denies.

The Elk Grove activist was released after the U.S. government applied diplomatic pressure on Vietnam.

Nguyen told the Sacramento Bee that he's happy to be back in Northern California, but he won't rest until the citizens of Vietnam can speak freely.

"For now, I will fight from here. If I have to go back to Vietnam, I will," he said Thursday.

Nguyen is a leading member of Viet Tan, a nonviolent pro-democracy group that Vietnamese authorities have labeled a terrorist organization. He was detained in 2007 in Vietnam for six months, also on charges relating to his pro-democracy activities, before being deported.

In 2010, he changed his name to Richard Nguyen and went back to Vietnam in 2011 for six weeks. When he made another trip in April last year, he was arrested as soon as he arrived.

"I knew what I was doing wasn't against the law, but I also knew I'd be arrested. I planned to become a witness against arbitrary detention," Nguyen said.

Nguyen said his three hunger strikes in prison and release without trial reflect the power of peaceful protest.

He said his experiences in Vietnam have given him a new appreciation of the United States.

"I love democracy and freedom a lot because I live in America. I didn't understand much before I came here," Nguyen said. "Now I want to pay it back. If I can do that, I feel like I am alive."